This Thanksgiving, I want to give thanks to all of my readers…for those of you who are clients of mine…and for all the blessings of God.
 
Let’s also remember to give thanks for one of the often overlooked and undervalued gifts of this holiday: the liberty to practice business in a free economy.
That’s right—when you think of this holiday, you might normally think of turkey, a harvest season, and the story of the birth of our nation.
But did you know that when we give thanks for an amazing meal, friends and family, and the history of America, we can also give thanks for capitalism?
Here’s why:
When the pilgrims came to America to escape persecution from the English government, they arranged for a system of shared property and imposed “communal service.”
Every person was given an equal share of food, property, and compensation for their labor, regardless of how hard they had worked—or if they had worked at all.
In other words, they set up a socialist system.
The result?
An anemic economy.
Poverty.
Famine.
Discontent.
Confusion.
Resentment.
The colony grew sick, weak, and hungry, as even able-bodied people were not given an incentive to work hard.
Remember that this was in a community of people who had come to this country with a shared vision, and cared for each other deeply.
So, after three years, they abandoned socialism and adopted a new system: every family unit would plant and grow their own crops, producing for themselves.
Under the new system, the Pilgrims thrived. They were happier, more productive, and more industrious.
On Thanksgiving, we celebrate their industrious ingenuity combined with the local knowledge of the Native Americans who helped them.
We also celebrate the victory of free market business over socialism, which history has proved again and again, never works.
 
Here are the rest of this issue’s articles: